Frank Sinatra: An American Legend [Hardcover]

Nancy Sinatra (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0762101342 | ISBN-13: 978-0762101344 | Publication Date: September 1998 | Edition: First Edition

He had many names: Ol' Blue Eyes, the Chairman of the Board, the Sultan of Swoon, the Voice. Ultimately, we will all remember Frank Sinatra as the World's Greatest Entertainer. The Voice lives on in this commemorative pictorial tribute to the life and 50-year career of the man who changed the face of music and movies from a humble beginning in Hoboken, New Jersey to his death on May 14, 1998 at age 82. In addition to being written by Nancy Sinatra, Frank's first-born daughter, this is the ONLY book done with the full cooperation of the Sinatra family. Reviewers rave "priceless," "a visual knockout," "a must-have for any Sinatra fan." Rare or previously unpublished photos and dozens of private stories told by his most intimate friends separate myth from the real deal and make this an extremely revealing--and truly poignant--testament to the legend who did it his way. Also features a complete discography and filmography.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Singer Nancy Sinatra calls her father "a maverick who lives by rigid codes. A winner who feels connected to losers," and this unabashedly affectionate tribute is a moving portrait of an individualist both as man and as artist. Frank Sinatra's recording, performing, acting and personal activities unfold here month by month, year by year, in diary-like, dated entries decked out with some 400 color and b&w photographs, including many from the family's private archives. Interviews with or quotes from the 79-year-old himself, memorabilia, letters, insets and recollections by friends, lovers, co-stars (Sammy Davis Jr., Burt Lancaster, Mitch Miller, Sammy Cahn, ex-wives Mia Farrow and Ava Gardner, etc.) round out this album. Included is an illustrated, heavily annotated filmography of his 50-year screen career. Every serious Sinatra fan will want to own this volume, a visual knockout. 250,000 first printing; $250,000 ad/promo; first serial to Life magazine; author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

These three books are due for publication in time for Frank Sinatra's 80th birthday. Two are somewhat similar. Britt's and Nancy Sinatra's efforts are both colorfully and copiously illustrated coffee-table books. Their subtitles reveal the viewpoint of the writers: they come to praise. Britt (The Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz, Harmony: Crown, 1986) has organized this book by time periods and concludes each chapter with sections on recordings, movies, and performances. This leads to some unnecessary duplication. Additionally, there are some errors. Montgomery Clift did not receive an Oscar for From Here to Eternity and the Woodstock Festival occurred four years after, not before, Sinatra's Newport Jazz Festival appearance. Overall, the text seems to take a back seat to the illustrations. In her book, daughter Nancy is quite concerned with presenting the facts, making extensive use of eyewitness accounts and many interviews. This book is not a mere revision of her earlier Frank Sinatra, My Father (LJ 12/85), but a great deal is lifted directly from it. Comments and reflections from people who have worked with or been associated with Sinatra, such as Doris Day, Bing Crosby, and Richard Nixon, are liberally strewn. Nancy does a good job in refuting a lot of the charges that have been made about her father over the years. At the same time, she is very careful to quote almost exclusively from positive reviews. A most balanced picture of the man can be found in The Frank Sinatra Reader. Compiled by two professors of American studies, it contains essays and articles spanning the entirety of his career. The writers range from Stephen Holden and John Rockwell of the New York Times to fellow performers like Rosalind Russell and Harry Connick Jr. More material critical of Sinatra appears here than in the other two books put together, but it is still in the minority. The Reader is recommended for popular music collections and public libraries, Sinatra's and Britt's volumes as gifts for Sinatra fans.?Michael Colby, Univ. of California, Davis
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 383 pages
• Publisher: Readers Digest Assn; First Edition edition (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762101342
• ISBN-13: 978-0762101344
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #831,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #45 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( S ) > Sinatra, Frank

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you want to know about Frank is in this Book, August 28, 2000

By 

Bob Waskiewicz (Wintersville, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frank Sinatra: An American Legend (Audio Cassette)

I had to get this book after seeing how low the price came down.The original price was 40 dollars. Nancy Sinatra's book on her Father has everything in here.I couldn't believe Frank weighted 13and a half pounds when he was born on December 12,1915.The Doctor ripped and scarred his ear,check,and neck,plus puncturing his eardrum.Frank wasn't breathing,so his grandmother Rose held the baby under cold running water until he gasped his first breath and cried.This book is like a Diary.It goes from year to year,sometimes month to month.All of Franks movies,records,concerts,TV shows,songs,and the name of the songwriters are in here,plus hundreds of pictures,starting with Frank's baby photo, ending with a touching family photo taken in 1996.There's a wonderfull picture of Marilyn Monroe taken with Dean Martin sitting ringside at the Sands..All of the stars are in here,and family pictures we've never seen before.If you are a Frank Sinatra fan,you have to get this Book.Its huge,and the pictures are fantastic.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The ideal family album, July 23, 2003

By 

Kelli N. "snoops71" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frank Sinatra: An American Legend (Hardcover)

No wonder this book is so thick- it's filled with numerous photos of Frank Sinatra, his family, and friends over the years. I love looking at these pics, and so will any other Sinatra fan. There is detailed info throughout the book as well. This is one worth having in your collection.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sinatra-Viewed Naked & Still Beautiful, July 13, 2003

By 

Barbara Garro ([e-mail] in Saratoga Springs, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frank Sinatra: An American Legend (Hardcover)

Here is Sinatra stripped of everything who leaves me knowing he has deserved my love and admiration all these years. With Sinatra, he drove himself through life going after whatever he wanted and risking the consequences. We get to look at his ups and downs and his prides and his falls. We see him suffer at love and sing about it. We see him finally, after all the aborted tries, finally sink himself into a relationship with his last wife that kept him happy until he died.

Life for Sinatra was all or nothing at all and he did life his way and fell into lots of tender traps and led some into his own tender traps, like one famous movie star I will let you discover on your own.

What so special about Nancy's book is that she is amazingly organized and objective in her account of her father's life. And the CD, well the CD is everything. You get to hear Sinatra on Sinatra, unabashed.

Everyone on the planet needs to buy and read this book to learn what life can be when you go for it all every day!

Kudos to Nancy for a biography well, well done.